A spring loaded cantilevered arm is commonly used to support the moveable transducer of a "floppy" disc system. The coupling of the arm to the transducer carriage is conventionally achieved by a light flexure spring. U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,573 shows an exemplary conventional flexure spring arrangement in which a portion of a flexure spring is bonded within an end of the arm. Due to that bonding arrangement, only very small portions or radii of the flexure spring bend when the arm is raised. Since the stress on the flexure spring is inversly porportional to the bending radius of curvature, small bending radii will subject portions of the flexure spring to large stress concentrations which often lead to fatigue failure.
The prior art teaches that spring loading of the cantilevered arm can be achieved by compressed or tensioned coiled springs. The forces exerted on the flexure spring by the coiled spring often produce deformation or bending of the flexure spring. Such bending may also produce fatigue failure. Also, the spring force of the prior art systems is not readily adjustable and, accordingly, the head load cannot be readily changed.
In addition to being prone to fatigue failure, the flexure spring mounting arrangements of the prior art permit excessive resonant vibration of the support arm. Such resonant vibration occurs because the support arm is in effect mounted on two springs (one coiled and one flexure). Furthermore, the mounting arrangements of the prior art do not provide tortional rigidity in all axes, which is another source of system vibration.